Midnight Drive
by jjcrimminds
Summary: Your destination is only fifteen minutes away. A short drive is all it will take for you to feel peace again, for your heart to steady and your fears to ease.


**A/N: Well, I am on a roll. I think I can honestly say that this is the quickest I've posted something within another update. It's sad, really.**

 **Anyway, this is a one-shot that I wrote** **per** **XoxMountainGirlxoX's request. P.S. – Sorry it took so long for me to write it, but now that I have, I hope that I meets your expectations.**

 **And for anyone who has any requests for me, I would be happy to fulfill them! PM me if you want me to write something for you :) Beware that there are only certain pairings that I am willing to write.**

 **Okay, okay, let's get to reading! And please let me know what you think!**

You startle awake, sweat dripping down your face and coating your body.

You try to catch your breath, but your heart is beating so fast that you fear it may never slow.

Your husband doesn't stir beside you; he's always been a deep sleeper. Besides, he wouldn't be able to help you now.

No, only one person can.

So you do the only thing you can do. The only thing that will give you peace.

You silently get dressed, not really paying attention or caring as to what you're wearing. It's almost as if you're on autopilot, and some outside force is controlling your body.

You barely register the movement as you make your way downstairs and grab the keys off of the counter. It's only a matter of minutes and you're in the comfort of your car and out of the dark, ominous night.

Your destination is only fifteen minutes away. A short drive is all it will take for you to feel peace again, for your heart to steady and your fears to ease.

You barely remember the drive as you park in the familiar driveway that you've occupied so many times. Everything is a blur until you knock on the door, one that should have the impression of your knuckles engraved in it from the amount of times that your hand has touched the wood over the course of the last month.

By now, it only takes seconds for the door to open. The routine has become so familiar that he has just started to wait for you instead of sleeping.

When the door swings open, you want to rush in, to jump into the warm embrace of his arms. An embrace that is one of the only ones in which you can find some semblance of peace.

But you control yourself. You don't want to lose all control, and that's exactly what would happen. No, right now, it's imperative that you keep control, of yourself and your emotions.

Because without it, what else do you have?

He can see the internal struggle that you are experiencing; it's not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last.

He gently grabs your arm and pulls you into his house, out of the dark night and into the comfort of his warm home.

As he shuts the door behind you, you wrap your arms around yourself, trying to hold it together.

You fight back the waves of shame and disgust as they roll over you. You should be stronger than this, and you know it.

By coming here, you're only proving one thing to yourself, over and over again, every time you slide into your car at the midnight hour.

You are weak.

You wish it wasn't true, but it is. If you weren't, you would be able to resist driving here every night, just so you can feel safe and have peace.

But instead, you make that trip again and again. It's part of your routine by now.

Every time you wake up, the demons of your past chasing you out of your nightmares and into consciousness, your first thought is to get in your car to drive.

So you do, every night. You give in and come here every night.

You know he doesn't mind; he's told you countless times before. But it doesn't stop the guilt from taking over.

You know he loses hours of sleep every night, just so he can stay awake until you come and knock on his door.

And that's the worst part. He knows you will come.

But you can't help it. You have to come and he's the only one who gets it, the only one who understands how you're feeling, what you went through.

So he guides you to the couch, just like every other night, and he sits down, gently settling you beside him.

He pulls a blanket out, one that has been reserved especially for this occasion. You know this because the only time he has ever used this blanket is when you're here.

He wraps it around both of us as you sit side by side. The warmth of his body seeps into yours and you can't help but feel tired already.

How is it that you are more comfortable here than in your own bed?

That fact shames you even more, to know that sleeping beside your own husband cannot calm you.

But he's the only one that knows the whole story, everything that you've been through.

So you can't help but feel at peace when settled beside him, beside the one person you know would never judge you.

You lay your head against his shoulder as sleep begins to take over. Simply being in his presence is enough to calm you.

You don't even have to say a single word because he already knows. Every breath you would have spent trying to explain it to someone else is preserved because you don't have to say anything.

The silence is worth more to you than a thousand words ever could.

Your eyes drift closed and his chest moving up and down with every breath he takes lulls you into sweet oblivion that is sleep when it is not plagued by nightmares.

When morning comes, you will head home. But for now, you enjoy this feeling.

Because it is one that you can get only during the nights when a midnight drive takes you here.

Every night.

But at this point, you are starting to care less and less about shame and guilt that you feel. And that is only because of him. _He_ taught you that needing someone doesn't make you weak. It makes you stronger because you are able to admit when you need someone to guide you through the darkness.

He has taught you so many things, and you will be forever grateful for them. For _him_.

They say a true friend comes once in a great while. They say that friend is one who sees the pain in your eyes when everyone else only sees your smile.

He is yours and you are his. You have a connection to each other that allows for you to provide the comfort that the other needs instinctively.

Your friendship is sacred, to both of you. Without it, you can honestly say you don't think you would have survived.

But you do have him, and all you have to do to find peace is take a midnight drive.


End file.
